Refrigerator cabinet



" www@ H. D. GEYER REFRIGERATOR CABINET Filed sept. 9, 1927 June 3, 1930.'

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Patenteduuae Va, 1930.

UNITED .s'rA

'res- D. G-EYERQAOF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOB T THE INLAND KANUFAOTUBING i OOMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A. ,CORPORATION OF DELAWARE BEFBIGEBATOR CABINET Application med September 9, 1927. Seriall No. 218,554.

1e A more specific object is to provide such a cabinet wherein the molded panels are so shaped as' to contact with the inner metal linat relatively small areas and so provide a jacket chamber between the panels and the sides ofthe metal liningto receive the heat insulating material. l .Another object is to provide for filling the jacket chambers in the vertical panels lwith loose heat insulating material through openings exposed When the bottom anel is .removed, thereby greatly simplifying and reducing the-cost of building the cabinet.

Another object is to provide a cabinet having va vertical door hinged directly to a thlckened portion of one of the side. panels and abutting the adjacent thickened portions -of the other panels. It is thus provided that the door forms the entire front of the cabinet and no door-opening frame is required other than the abovementioned thickened portions integral with the side, top, and bottom panels. vThe entire cabinet is therefore formedfrom six molded panels including the door panel. Another object is to'provide an -improved molded panel doorl constructionhaving an inner metal lining and a soft rubber sealing jacket, andan inneruring of molded plastic material overlapping and concealing the edges of said lining and also serving to retain .the gasket 'in place.

`Furlfher objects and advantages ofthe present'invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the-drawing: 4 Fig. 1 isa vertical section of a refrigerator cabinet built according to this invention and 5 is taken on lin'e 1-1 of Fig. 2.

2 is a horizontal section through the cabinet taken online 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the inverted cabinet with the bottom panel and door removed,

and illust-rates how the vertical jacket chambers may be filled with loose cork or other `are separately molded to the form clearly illustrated from a bituminous plastic material such as, or similar to, that vdescribed in my co ending application, Serial No. 169,6'69, filed ebruary 19, vv1927. This material is especially Well adapted for this Furpose since it is non-rusting, moisture proo ai good nonconductor of heat, readily receives and grips Asmall nails and screws without splitting or breaking, and can be economically molded into the shapes of the parts illustrated in the drawings.

The panels all have thickened marginal portions to provide for strong joints therebetween and also for increasing the strength and rigidity of the box structure as a whole. The two side panels 11, the back panel 12, and the top panel 13 are rigidly joined along their contacting edges by a 45 degree miter jointl and the small diagonally disposed stove bolts 16 which yare suitably spaced apart along the joint totightly clamp the tvo contacting mitered ledges together. The heads and'nuts of the. bolts 16 are countersunk into .the material and are after assembl completly concealed by. the sealing plugs 1 'composed `of a suitable plastic sealing material, prefer- .ably of a bituminous compound similar to that from which thejpanels are molded. The l corner cracks 20 ,are completely sealed o' and obliterated from the outside by fusing together" the material of the panels by means of a hot metal form pressed firmly up against the corners. The joints of the cabinetjare thus completely sealed against moisture entering the insulating material and causing deterioration thereof, and the cabinet has the appearance of being molded all in' one piece.

The thickened bot-tom edges of the vertical anels 11 and 12 are .formed as clearly shown 1n Figs. 1 `and 3. These bottom edges have at each end thereof shoulders 31 upon which ferial. These openings 35 are of the same Width and aligned with the shoulders 31 and hence are completely closed by the, flanges 32 when the bottom panel is in place.' These openings 35 serve as apertures through which loose ground cork or other heat insulating material may be inserted 4to fill the :jacket chambers 36 when the cabinet is in inverted position, as shown in Fi 3, and before the bclittom panel 30 has l en assembled in p ace.

The bottom panel 30 has a jacket chamber 40 molded therein which is filled with the loose ground cork insulating material after which the sheet metal cork retaining plate 41 is nailed in place bythe small nails 42. It will lnow be clear that the bottom panel 30, maderas above described, can be inverted and set upon the shoulders 31, when the cabinet is in theinverted position as shown in Fi 3, and fixed in lace by the screws 33. f desired, the crac 45 ma be fused together and sealed as described a ove for the cracks 20, howeverthis is not necessary for good l appearance since these cracks 45 are on the bottom surface of the cabinet and hence will not show. f

The molded cabinet and'metal lining 10 may be assembled as follows: The top panel 13 is first laid in inverted position on the lioor and the jacket chamber 37 therein filled with loose ground cork. Next the metal line ing 10 (also inverted) is set in its proper place upon the top panel. 13 and fixed in place thereupon bythe small nails 38'. The two. side panels 11 vand back anel 12 are next assembled in place and ed to each other and to the top panel 13 by the bolts 16.

v The vertical jacket chambers 36 are then filled with'the loose cork through the open' ings 35 as described above, after which the bottom panel 30, with its cork and retaining plate 41 in place, is laid upon the shoulders 31 and fixedin place by the.t screws 33. The edges of themetal lining 10 at f the open door-way lof renewing are tacked down 'all' around :byl-

small nails 38. The cabinet may then be turned upto its normal position and the coml pleted door properly hung in place.

The door panel 50 forms the entire front of the cabinet and is Ahin ed directly to the thickened front edge 51 o one side panel 11 by means of the hinge 52 and the screws 53 .which are driven directly into the molded material of the panel. The peripheral flange 55 of the door panel' overla s the thickened 4front edges 51 of thetop, ottom, and two side panels and thus these thickened forward edges 51 serve as a rigid door-opemng frame. I

The panel 50 has the inwardly projecting marginal iange 56 which forms a jacket 4chamber 57 for receiving the heat insulating material (preferably loose ground cork).

An innerenameled metal lining 58 rests upon f the 'outer edge of the marginal flange 56 and is retained in place by the ring 60 which is molded to shape from the plastic material to telescope upon the slightly tapered outer periphery of the fiange 56. Thismolded ring 60'is secured in place b small,screws'o r nails as clearly shown in ig; 1. This r1ng 60 extends adjacent to but stops' short of the fiange 55 to' provide a' gasket tween these two parts, as clear .The soft rubber gasket 62 has a ortion pro-v 'ecting within groove 61\where y the et A'is retained in place. vThe soft rub er gasket 62 may be easily nserted withm the groove, or removed there rom for purposes the same, si ply by stretching a portion o cross sectionand tien snapping 1t 1nto the groove while so stretched. Tlns gasket 62 its length at a time to reduce its.

abuts against the inner corners of the doorthe enameledsurface of lining 58 are exposed.

Economy of manufacture is materially increased by the non-necessity of forming tlie lining' 58 to any shape other than a plane.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form,it is to be understood that other forms-might be adopted, .all coming within the scope of the claims. which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:-

1. A refrigerator Icabinet* comprising; a one-piece inner metal lining having an. open side for the door-way, separate panels ,molded to shape from plastic material enclosing' saidlining and forming a cabinet therefor,

said panels having inwardly projecting mar-l nal portions abutting thecorners of said `ini-ng and leaving a jacket chamber'between lthe panel and' lining, and heat insulating material filling said yjacket chambers.

2. A refrigerator lcabinet comprising: a plurality of separate panels each having inturned marginal lianges and molded to shape from a plastic material said panelsbeing joined together with said marginal flanges in abutting relationship to form .a box structure having an open vertical side fora doorway, a one-piece inner metal lining supported by the marginal flanges of saidpanels within said "box structure but spaced from said panels except at the relatively small supporting areas thereby providing jacket chambers between said lining and the panels, and insulating material filling said jacket chambers. v j

y3. A refrigeratorlcabinet comprising: separate .panels each having inturned marginal flanges and molded to shapey from a plastic lmaterial said panels being joined together to forma box structure having an open vertical side for a door-way, a one-pieceinner metal lining supported by the marginal iianges of said panels within said box structure but spaced ftromsaid i anels except at the relatively small supporting areas thereby providing jacket chambers betwen said lining and the panels, and insulating material filling said jacket. chambers, and a heat insulating door for said door-way, said door being hingedV directly to the thickened vertical edge 'of one side pane-l. adjacent said,

door-way.

4. A refrigerator cabinet comprising: sep- I arate panels each `having inturned marginal flanges and molded to shape from a plastic material said panels being joined together by a miter joint between said marginal flanges to form a` box structure having an open vertical side for a door-way, a' one-.piece inner metal lining supported by said panels within said box structure but spaced from said panels except at the relatively small supportiiigeareas thereby providing jackety chambers tween said lining and the panels, and insulating material filling said jacket chambers, and a heat insulating door for said door-way contacting directly with the edges of said molded panels adjacent said doorway, whereby portions of the molded panels serve as a door-opening frame.

5. A refrigerator cabinet comprising: separate side, back, `and top and bottom panels molded" to shape from a plastic material and rigidly joined directly together at their edges to 4form a box structure, an inner metal lining supported by said panels at the corner edges thereof but spaced from said panels ex cept at the relatively small supporting areas thereby providing jacket chambers between said lining and said panels, said panels being lso shaped that, when the bottom panel is removed from the box structureand lining, openings leading to the vertical jacket chambers will be rovided, whereby said vertical jacket cham rs may be illed with loosey insulating material through said openings.

6. The steps in the method of making a re- .nigerator cabinet comprising: forming an inner metal lining for l said cabinet, assembling at least three separate exterior vertical panels and one end panel upon said lining to enclose the same, but leaving a j acketchamber between said lining and Vertical panels signature. Y

HARVEY D. GEYER.

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